Sometimes I'll have an idea in my head for something I want to try, and that idea will just never leave. It was last Christmas that I wondered to myself, "Can one make ice cubes in cookie cutters??" The previous holiday season got busy fast, so I never got around to testing that hypothesis out. This go round, as I dusted off my holiday cookie cutters, I decided it was time. I tested my theory. The results? Success! Holiday cocktail ice cubes - oh yeah!

I woke up to the first snow of the season last week and couldn't help but get a little excited for the magical, wintery days ahead. It's still a bit warm to line the walks with these crystal-like beauties, but come December, you better believe I'm making a whole bunch of DIY ice lanterns!

Your handpacked lunch. Sore joints. Picnics. Having a quick source of cold is infinitely helpful for keeping what you need chilled, and doing it well.

As it turns out, you can make your own - infinately sizeable and shapeable - but just limited how water freezes by adding something with a much lower freezing point, like alcohol....both the rubbing and the, er, vodka kind.

So....with more than five pounds of cherries left from syrup making, I realized I was gonna have to get these dudes processable so that, come winter time, I'd be to able use them in a variety of ways. Creating pie filling for freezing was an option, as well as just throwing the cherries whole into the freezer, but I wanted to be able to keep them versatile for whatever...

Brrrr... We're certainly in the dead center of winter, and for those of us north of the Mason-Dixon line (and for many of you below it), that means lots and lots of shoveling to keep sidewalks, porches, and driveways clean. But, as any 12-year-old kid can tell you, after the first few minutes, snow and ice start to build up on the shovel's surface, and it becomes heavy and more difficult to use.

This article claims to offer a bunch of environmentally-sound methods of de-icing sidewalks. However, most of their tips are directed more at removing ice from your window (though they are good tips for doing so).

Luckily, the folks in the comments section offer great green ideas that seem much more fun than shoveling at six a.m.

This time of year, ice becomes troublesome. Around here, it’s everywhere. Roads, roofs, sidewalks. A certain hatred develops. What’s it good for, really, besides keeping my drink cold? And who wants a cold drink when it’s 8 degrees outside, anyway? Do I even NEED ice cubes in my refrigerator's feezer for the next three months? Apparently so, if I’m to attempt any of these alternative uses for the frozen blocks.

"Gardeners, listen up. You need not stand by each fall while Jack Frost kills off your favorite tender plants one by one. You can rescue your plants from certain death by bringing them in for the winter. Coleus, begonias, and even heliotropes don't mind taking a holiday as houseplants. And once your plants are indoors, it's easy to make more with cuttings. On the following pages, we've laid out a strategy designed to keep your plants healthy...